Complex items of equipment, such as motor vehicles, construction equipment, manufacturing plant, or domestic electrical equipment, require the performance of routine servicing operations in order to keep them in good working order, and may also require non-routine servicing operations as defects develop in the normal lifetime of the item. Where single items of equipment are installed and maintained in a single location, for example a factory, the problems of scheduling regular service operations is relatively simple, because the owner or user of the equipment will normally be familiar with the construction of the equipment and have maintenance information and facilities readily available. In the case of mass-produced equipment and in particular consumer goods such as motor vehicles, the owners or users of the equipment are generally less familiar with the technical operation of the equipment and even if they are aware of the need for the performance of service operations, they are not well enough equipped to perform them. In order to assist owners and users of such equipment in this area, the manufacturers of the item frequently establish a network of service facilities in the markets where the equipment is sold.
In the case of motor vehicles, such service facilities are normally operated by authorised dealers appointed by the motor manufacturers. The facilities typically comprise people trained in the provision of the service operations, a stock of replacement parts, and tools with which to perform the service operation.
Traditionally, the owner or user of the vehicle has been required to remember when each service operation is due, to initiate contacts with the service facility provider, and make arrangements for the performance of the service operation. Usually this process has been performed over the telephone or by direct personal contacts between the vehicle user on the one hand and the operator of the service facility on the other. Relatively little information available has been available or accessible in advance by the service facility operator about the vehicle, or by the vehicle user about service facility, its availability, or its prices or other important selection criteria. As a result of this lack of information, vehicle users have had difficulty in selecting a service facility best suited to their needs, and the operators of the service facility have been unable to match the services offered to the needs of their customers.
A further problem in the case of motor vehicle arises because of the increasing complexity of service operations to be performed. Vehicle manufacturers are producing vehicles in increasing numbers of model ranges, with more variants within each range, and with more optional equipment than ever before. Since each model, variant and optional feature has different service requirements, the number of possible service operations to be performed by the service facility is increasing in direct proportion. Since the time required to perform a service operation varies with the number of individual tasks to be performed, the scheduling and pricing of service operations by a service facility is also becoming increasingly difficult.
Various proposals have been made to assist customers in selecting providers of goods or services using the world-wide computer web, or Internet exchange. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,406 discloses an automatic search system which receives from potential customers a search profile identifying the customer's preferences for a particular product or service.
The system uses the search profile to carry out a search of available products and services against a database of information supplied by potential suppliers of the goods or services. The search and matching operation is performed whilst the customer is off-line, and when a match is obtained, the system automatically notifies the customer using a separate communication mode selected by the customer. This system is capable of for bringing together buyers and sellers where the subject of the transaction is relatively simple, but would not details of the where, in order to quote a time and a price for the performance of a service operation, service facility requires more information about the construction of the vehicle than is normally available to the vehicle owner or user. U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,878 discloses a computerised prompting system suitable for reminding vehicle owners that a routine service operation is due on their vehicle. The system comprises a personal database containing information about the vehicle and the owner, and a software system, all stored on a CD-ROM disc, which the owner installs on his or her personal computer. The system then creates prompts for the owner whenever a new service operation is expected to fall due. These prompts can be communicated to a local service facility through the internet to set up an appointment for the performance of the service operation. However such a system is only accessible by vehicle owners in possession of the CD-ROM disc containing the programme and details of the vehicle.